I Dance In the Rain
by nothingwillsuffice
Summary: Gray was the kind of man to mind his own, yet he couldn't help looking back into the rain when he saw her. Gruvia.
1. She Dances In the Rain

The day had been long for Gray. He woke up before the sun rose and was one his way home to sleep long after it had set. He didn't know why he kept doing this, traveling so far into town just to do his job, but he didn't like the idea of leaving where he was at and that was that. Ur had always said that his stubbornness would be the end of him; he'd be lying if he said that part of himself hadn't believed her. He painfully shoved the thought of his teacher aside; she'd been too invested of a mentor, and that was that.

He frowned at the skies when he felt the first raindrop touch his nose. Luckily, his intuition about the weather was accurate and he had brought his umbrella with him. He opened it up with a sigh and slid one of his hands into his jacket pocket, resigned and tired. It would be heaven when he could get into his bed and sleep so late that Natsu would be the one to bang on his door.

The streets and things that passed him by periphery were blurred and insignificant. The rains helped to cover up things outside of his dry bubble under the umbrella, and the dark evening blotched out small, dark objects like stones and trash that lined the alleyways. Gray breathed in the chilly air as he closed his eyes and walked numbly, glad that the cold was still there to comfort him. He opened his eyes to find his jacket and shirt gone, and thought nothing of it. He had plenty more, and now, at least, someone else on the streets in need of a jacket would have one. He tried his best to keep his pants on though, he had fewer pairs of them.

Eventhough he was set on ignoring everything extraneous (everything that wasn't himself, his clothes, the rain, or his bed), Gray couldn't help but notice the car parked in the driveway of the house next to his, and the 'FOR SALE' sign that was absent from the front yard. He doubted the sign had just disappeared that day and wondered why he hadn't noticed earlier. Then he kept walking, his eyes lingering on the yard for just a moment longer.

A midnight Tesla, some soaked boxes on the porch, non-active sprinklers, a pale, nude woman on the lawn, pelted grass, disgruntled dirt, and wrinkled clothes, drenched, by the sidewalk.

Gray took two steps more, his eyes forward, before he stopped.

He was by no means snoopy-- he was rather reserved in his own right. But there was just something about all that pale skin illuminated dully in the late evening by the half shrouded moon that made him want to just . . . stop. It wasn't right, he finally put together; no one should be out so late at night in the rain with no clothes on. No one did that.

Against his better judgement, he took two steps back and looked at the naked woman blanketed only by night. His intentions were not lewd-- perhaps slightly affected by her hourglass shape, but nothing more. She was simply ethereal. He watched how she moved, how she seemed to be dancing in the downpour, her hands gliding over her skin and her body stirring the drops, and her feet placid on the asphalt driveway. His mind whirred at the sight of her countenace: beautiful, calm and resonant-- as if she were one with the rain.

Then her eyes opened and she looked at him.


	2. He Takes Her Hand In the Rain

Juvia blinked only once. She hadn't expected anyone to be out this late, let alone in the rain. Most thought it dreary and reproachable.

She looked into his eyes and he looked back. She supposed that she was relieved he did not let his eyes wander, but there was something almost unsettling about the way he held her gaze. It felt fateful, like one who meets their love at first sight.

"Hello." she said to him. He seemed surprised to hear her speak.

"Hey,"

She noted that he sounded nervous, unsure. Perhaps he suspected this was all a dream. She acknowledged that the scene was likely a short distance from surreal. Maybe because he had nothing else to say, the man continued to look into her eyes, and she looked back. Then, when she grew tired of staring, Juvia tilted her head up towards the sky and closed her eyes.

The man was silent for a long time.

"Uh, don't take this the wrong way, miss, but you can always use the shower. It's just like being in the rain, only cleaner."

Juvia tilted her head down and opened her eyes to look at him. She noticed that he was not wearing a shirt. "That's sweet of you, but you don't understand."

The man raised an eyebrow, and Juvia also noticed that he had an umbrella propped against his shoulder. "Don't understand what?"

"There is no possible way to recreate nature. That is why when we try to replicate it, it is instead called 'artificial.' So there is no possible way to truly recreate the rain or any of its soothing qualities. And that is why I do not dance anywhere but in the rain."

The man seemed skeptical of her understanding. He looked at her face this time, not her eyes, and then momentarily glanced at the rest of her before looking off into the distance. Again, Juvia felt the fateful feeling; she didn't mind when his eyes roamed. Her hair capped her breasts and he only looked for a second. He wasn't an indecent person, just curious. And he wasn't looking at her like she was crazy or denouncing her feelings about the rain and natural things. He thought about it.

Suddenly, the man closed his umbrella. He sighed and mimicked her, closing his eyes softly and tilting his chin up to the skies. Juvia thought that for a moment, this man seemed almost ethereal. He belonged in the rain, was modeled for it. His slightly tanned skin clashed with the night, but the droplets took to it fondly, like one brushes their hand over velvet. The man mumbled a thought through the rain.

"Hm. This does feel nice . . ."

Juvia watched as he swept his wet hair back and tilted his head back down, opened his eyes to look at her. The fateful feeling still hadn't left her alone. He looked into her eyes and she looked back.

"Mind if I join you?"


	3. Without the Rain

Gray had both his pants and his boxers off before she said anything. Their gazes stayed locked, but she blushed and looked away.

"If you wish to, I don't mind."

He was satisfied with that.

In all honesty, Gray had no idea what had come over him. He knew there was little chance of him ever doing something like this of his own volition. He guessed he had a weakness in beautiful women-- Ur had gotten him to strip naked in the snow.

He stood beside her awkwardly at first. She moved with what looked like a practiced grace, though he had the feeling that it was as purely natural as the rain. When he realized that, he closed his eyes and just felt the cool water droplets fall on him.

And later he realized that it was a terrible feeling when you had to leave the rain.

He bathed in her house. She insisted that he stay for dinner and let her show some hospitality. Her kind smile wouldn't let him say no. She communicated an earnest appreciation for his tolerance and understanding over dinner, adter both of them had bathed, and an utmost respect for his participation.

"When I saw you staring at me from the street, the last thing I thought you would do is join me."

"To be honest, me too."

Juvia-- the rain woman-- gave a laugh at that. Gray chuckled along with her, thinking this entire night rather odd, though not in a bad way. It was sort of whimsical; he'd managed to meet a beautiful woman without driving her away with his stripping habits.

"It was nice though. I've never experienced anything like that."

Juvia sipped from her glass, her smile growing bigger. "Yes. Now you understand."

They chatted a while about dancing in the rain. Eventually, the conversation steered towards more miscellaneous things. Gray found that Juvia was a wonderful conversationalist with many other unique, naturalistic ideas and feelings. He discovered new things about himself as well; she was very insightful.

Gray had never talked to another person so much in his life.

And when at last sunrise came and he really and truly needed to leave her house, he did. But he came back later in that day.

"To tell you the truth, I thought earlier this morning was a dream until you appeared on my doorstep."

"I thought it was a dream until you answered the door."

Juvia let Gray into her home and he wiped his feet on the entrance mat. He followed her into the living room where numerous unpacked boxes lay about haphazardly and a furniture set had just been set up. He offered to help her get the rest of the house organized and she accepted, communicating her appreciation. His shirt was thrown carelessly onto the couch when they started. Juvia didn't seem to mind.

Because they had both slept until the afternoon, they didn't stop until night. That was okay, because throughout the process, they talked and laughed and enjoyed themselves a great deal. And dancing in the rain would have to wait until the latest hours of the day anyway if there was to be a shower.

With dinner in their hands (Juvia had cooked for them again, and this was the first home cooked meal since his mother died that he truly liked), the two of them settled on the couch and first checked the weather. Gray saw Juvia frown at the report.

"There's no rain today." she said disappointedly.

Gray shrugged, a smile on his face. It was a surprise to him how sincere it was; he had only known this woman for a night. "It may have been what connected us, but we don't need the rain to be together."

Juvia gave him another dazzling smile.

"I never pegged you for the romantic type."


	4. At Home

Juvia didn't think much about it when Gray had stripped himself of his clothes so quickly that first time she'd met him in the night, during the rainfall. She didn't think much of it when he relieved himself of his shirt while helping her organize her house-- it was tough work. It was when Gray started to remove his clothes every time he walked through her door, a week after they'd gotten the innards of her home in order, that Juvia began to think him strange.

She asked him about it one day while they were chilling in her living room and watching cartoons. She admits that she could have done a better job of delivering it, though it was quite amusing to see his reaction.

"So do you make yourself at home in everyone's house, or just in mine?"

It took Gray a moment to catch onto what she meant. His face flushed immediately after. "Wait, please don't think I'm weird, I can explain!"

Juvia shrugged. "I'm waiting,"

"Well, it's kinda like this," Gray settled into the loveseat and put on a contemplative look, though Juvia could tell from the way he bashfully scratched at the back of his head that he was rather hesitant about sharing. "When I was younger, my parents died. I was sent to an orphanage and adopted real soon after. My new mom was a famous explorer who spent most of her time in the arctics, oddly enough,"

Gray looked down at his hands at the mention of his adoptive mother. He paused for a decent while and seemed almost like he needed comforting, but he hid his pain well. He continued. "Her name was Ur. She became my mentor. She trained me and another kid she adopted from the orphanage to withstand freezing temperatures by stripping down to our underwear in the snow. She made us do it everday, and blizzards were no exception.

"I get hot real easily because of that, and it's sort of become ingrained in my muscle memory; I strip down without meaning to or realizing it."

Juvia almost looked at him incredulously, then caught herself last second. It was a peculiarity, but honestly not something too out of the ordinary. She supposed she had the reason for his nonchalance about being naked in front of others, his easiness about stripping bare before her in the rain.

It dawned on her only briefly that they had been complete strangers at the time of their meeting, but they had already seen each other fully nude, and that that wasn't normal. At the very least, it wasn't appropriate.

"If we ever go out in public together, I won't have to worry about you streaking, will I?"

Gray responded with a tilt to his lips, "No promises."

Juvia laughed and decided that she liked this quirk of Gray's; it made him odd, and so she felt less self-conscious about her own oddities; it was easy and relieving to declare theirs an odd relationship.

Juvia also wondered about Gray's briefly mentioned dead parents, more about the unnamed boy he had been brothers with in cold solidarity. It was all very interesting. He would tell her all about them when he was ready, she knew; she could feel it in her bones.


	5. Brownie

Gray wasn't huge on economic affairs. He knew that he should be at the very least concerned with it, but there was just a certain lethargy he couldn't shake when approaching the subject. He couldn't always be bothered with eco-friendly crap.

Juvia came over to his house this weekend, and the first thing she asked after lunch was, "Where's the recycle bin?"

Gray wasn't all that ashamed to say that there wasn't one, but he couldn't help feeling just a tad self-conscious when Juvia was the one asking. Any one else? He'dve blown them off and told them not to worry about it. But for some reason, because it wasn't anyone else, he felt compelled to tell a white lie.

The next day, there was a container in his kitchen for Juvia to toss her biodegradables into.

She smiled contentedly, dare he say almost knowingly, and voiced her appreciation for the new plastic bin in the corner of his kitchen.

"You know, I didn't peg you as the type to be as involved in the wellbeing of our natural economy as I am, and clearly you're not, but thanks for caring enough to at least get a recycling bin."

Gray shrugged, an awkward smile pulling at his lips. "Can't grow old in a pigsty of a planet, can I?"

Juvia just chuckled at his lameness and went back to painting something. It was large and monochromatic, but Gray wasn't paying enough attention to make out solid details; art was better judged in its final form anyway. Juvia seemed placated by his decency to accommodate for his friend that cared about the environment.

Gray was relieved she was relieved. Making friends was always fairly difficult for him; he tended to give people the cold shoulder unintentionally. It was nice to know that he could both develop and hold a friendship without the help of one of his other friends. Speaking of, he ought to have them meet each other at some point.

"Hey, what do you think about going to get smoothies with the rest of my friends on Saturday? I think you'll like them."

"Sure, why not. I need to get out more anyways."

She said it with nonchalance, but Gray could see that she was faintly worried.

"Don't worry," she looked at him and he gave a friendly smile, "You're their type of person."

The look she gave him afterwards could only be described as gratitude.

l l l l l

"Hey guys, this is Juvia. Juvia, this is Lucy, Erza, and Natsu,"

His friends gave a chorus of joyous greetings, all of which caused Juvia to flush happily. Conversation had just started, and was managing to go well, but Natsu opened his stupid mouth and ruined that.

"So she's your girlfriend, right? About damn time you got yourself a mate, loner!" Natsu cackled heartily after that, as if he had told a knee-slapping joke. A couple of the others chuckled along with him, though he and Juvia were red as tomatoes.

After assuring that they were just friends, the group ordered a round of drinks and made conversation while looking at the menu. When the waiter came, they gave their orders.

"I'll have the Big Brownie,"

Gray blinked at Juvia and she blinked back. They had given the same order at the same time. Natsu thought it was amusing for whatever reason, and laughed. The waiter smiled kindly and wrote it down, then moved on to the others.

They ate and talked and Gray was glad to see that Juvia was getting along with his other friends very well. He was happy, but once he finished his bundle of chocolatey goodness, he found himself a bit upset; he wanted more. His opportunity came when Juvia excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she came back, she immediately noticed that her goody was gone.

"What happened to the rest of my brownie?"

Gray spoke so that someone else wouldn't ruin it and he could get off clean. "Natsu ate it,"

Juvia turned to Natsu. "Really?"

"Hey, you promised not to tell if I didn't!"

"Tell what?"

Gray sighed; he knew he should've blamed it on someone quieter. "I ate the other half of it. Natsu and I made a deal not to rat on each other if we split it."

Juvia across the table at Natsu and then zeroed in on Gray, a disapproving yet amused tilt to her lips. "You know, I never pegged you as the type to lie."

In truth, he seemed like the type to be brutally honest and not give a damn about what others thought.

"I don't lie," Gray answered smoothly, "I just omit the truth."

Juvia laughed, but Gray was forced to give up his brownie to her later.


	6. Your Dance

Juvia was excited. She didn't have to go to work that day, and the news reported heavy showers all day. She could already see grey skies, feel the moisture in the air when she went outside, hear the lulling rumble of perturbed clouds. It may have been a let-down for everyone else in Magnolia, but frankly, Juvia was tired of clear blue skies. Rain came hardly at all in such a temperate town.

When she came out into the stormy night and stood in her front lawn skin bare, she was mildly surprised to find Gray walking down the sidewalk in only his boxers to come join her. Juvia almost forgot that she had a partner now. It hadn't rained at all since the night they had first met, so it was easy to pretend that they were regular friends. It remained a greater solace as she'd originally thought to know that they weren't regular friends.

She greeted him with a smile that he returned, then began her descent into a placid state of mind. It contrasted strongly with the strong rainfall, but that made it all the more stabilizing. She could feel herself flowing away-- if that made any sense. It made sense to her.

She opened her eyes mid-dance to see Gray standing in the cold and wet onslaught stock-still. She wondered if he was uncomfortable or not enjoying himself. Then she noticed that even though his arms were crossed over his chest, his shoulders were far from attention, his chin was tilted slightly downward, and his stance was firm but at ease. He was simply a stoic man; his dance was one of enduring stone.

Juvia closed her eyes again and continued dancing. She liked to think that her own dance was of water itself, of waves and rain and bodies alike. It was a deep and spiritual representation of who she was, so she did her best to meditate and look upon it while she danced. She admits that such zen practices had always appealed to her.

The train of thought led Juvia to think about Gray's spirit; what lay within his skin and bone. He seemed like a good person; like a quiet person; someone influenced by others' emotions as a human, but not swayed by just anything; a man of virtue, by the silver cross that always hung from his neck; rough on the outside and smooth on the inside. It was what she knew from the few days she'd had to spend with him. Without a doubt, Juvia was certain that she would learn more.

She knew nothing of his ambitions, talents, etc, but as she felt steadfast a fated becoming between the two of them, she knew that these things, too, would come to her knowledge in time. She would allow things to happen as the would.

However, though she left Gray to his motionless peace, she vowed to find his feeling dance.


	7. Ame

Gray was surprised to find a ball of fluff rumbling on his stomach when he woke up the next morning. He had stayed the night at Juvia's after the rainfall and slept on the couch and apparently Juvia's cat found his abs to be the perfect resting spot.

He didn't even know that Juvia had a cat.

"Aw. It looks like Ame likes you," Juvia cooed when she found him in the living room with the cat on his belly. She pet the feline affectionately, and Gray watched as it yawned wide and stretched its limbs, but didn't move. He let out a sigh.

"He's cute and all, but I wanna get up."

Juvia giggled. "Don't worry. I'll make us some breakfast, and when I pour his food into his bowl, he'll leave you. For now, just enjoy his charming presence."

Juvia spent a few more minutes gushing over Ame with stars in her eyes before going to make breakfast.

Gray eyed the animal with eyes still droopy with sleep, then felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle as an eerie vibe traveled through him; he had the feeling that he and Ame sported the exact same expression. It was even more uncanny that Gray had always felt like he was a cat personality.

As if Juvia could sense the hint of uneasiness in him from the kitchen, she called out, "He doesn't bite, you know. Stop being weird and pet him."

Gray watched Ame's stomach fall and rise, fall and rise with every breath. It was sort of nice to watch such a fragile thing as a life, especially when that life was covered snout to tail in really soft blue-grey fur. He supposed it couldn't hurt to pet the cat while he waited for it to move.

Ame purred gratefully under Gray's hand, shifting ever so slightly so that Gray pet him in what could be assumed as just the right place. Despite himself, Gray smiled. He'd never had a pet before, though he'd wanted one. Ame was nice and soft and perfect for comfort, half of the reason why he'd wanted a furry companion. Gray wondered if the feline would play.

But from the way things looked, the cat was old. He blinked sluggishly if at all, and his whiskers were very long and very few. He was well-fed too, but his shoulders showed through his fur even more brazenly than what was usual for a cat. He was unresponsive to Gray's attempts at having some fun.

"Hey, how old is Ame?" he asked out of curiosity when Juvia joined him in the living room and shook the bag of cat food to entice the cat to eat. Gray found himself frowning at the loss of warmth and comfortable weight Ame provided.

"He's in his twenties, like me. I've had him my whole life."

Gray watched Juvia pet the old cat and direct him towards the food by wiggling her fingers. A small smile made its way back to his visage, a warm feeling melting his heart as he witnessed a softer-- dare he say adorable-- side to Juvia as she fawned over her aged pet. Not that he hadn't found her to be kind before, but now it was almost motherly how she cared for her friend. Inexplicably, Gray felt immensely lucky in that moment.

Perhaps it was because he knew, deep down, that Juvia was a better friend than he deserved.


	8. The Other Boy

Juvia noticed that Gray was in a particularly sour mood. They had been friends long enough now that she knew he wasn't just grumpy; something was actually wrong. When she made a move to ask him what was it was, she was too late.

"Hello, Gray,"

The young man with white hair like ice said the greeting snidely, condescending; as if his presence was a gift which Gray was undeserving. Gray's response most certainly did not paint the same picture.

"Get outta here, you bastard,"

Juvia watched with shock as Gray's fist met the snide man's cheek and sent him back a step. The newcomer seemed calm, surprisingly, as if he had been anticipating Gray's retaliation, and Juvia had the feeling that this encounter ran deeper than her understanding. She watched as Gray geared himself up to take another swing, and felt herself moving to stand in between the two of them before he could.

"Hold on!" she heard herself say, "You can't just attack him! Let him speak!"

Gray seemed to glare right through her. "No way, Juvia! Move so I can kick his ass off of my property!"

She was going to respond when the egotistical man behind her spoke up, surprising her. "You should do as he says, madam. He has every right."

Juvia felt queasy and wrong, but she eventually subtracted herself from the equation and stood back. She watched Gray beat the man with hair like ice senseless out on the lawn.

l l l l l

When Lyon started to bleed, Juvia decided to step in, personal or not. She convinced Gray to calm down at least. She couldn't get him to agree to patching Lyon up though. She volunteered to take Lyon to her house, then, to give him some proper first aid. Gray followed, probably because he didn't trust her to be alone with his enemy, and Juvia appreciated his clear concern very much eventhough Gray likely wouldn't admit to caring.

Lyon-- the man with white, spiky hair that was sharp and jagged and stood on end like frozen stalagmites-- fell onto her couch with grace (it was truly an intriguing thing to watch). He wasn't too out of sorts, had enough consciousness and direction to keep himself upright while Juvia worked on him. Gray stood just behind her, glaring at Lyon over her shoulder.

"Be thankful, douche."

"Gray--"

"He's right," Lyon stopped her chastise, looking up at her pitifully from a swollen face, "I never did thank you. I very much appreciate your help, madam."

Juvia frowned, but said nothing and continued to work. The more she heard Lyon speak, the less she understood why Gray hated him so much. He was very cordial, kind, and soft-spoken. Nothing about his disposition screamed "bastard" quite like Gray had-- nothing screamed "bastard" at all. It was also hard to believe that this was the same man who had spoken to Gray so snidely before. He seemed very serious now.

Lyon wasn't nearly as quick to shed his shirt as Gray, but he did do it and he did do it without preamble. Juvia knew Gray hadn't struck his abdomen very much, so at the most, there was light bruising, but nothing that couldn't be treated with ice through cloth material. When she offered him an ice pack wrapped in a small cloth, he took the pack without it. His skin was far less sensitive to the cold than others.'

Gray gave Lyon a stormy look after she moved, his arms across his chest. "What are you doing here?"

"She would have wanted us to keep in touch," Lyon responded, his look stony. Juvia thought that if his face was less swollen, he would have looked very handsome.

"Don't give me that bull,"

"It's not bull and you know it, Gray. She raised us like brothers-- like we were blood."

"I don't want to hear a word about blood from your mouth. It clearly didn't mean anything to you how she raised us!"

Gray's volume rose, as did the tension in the room. Juvia was once again caught between helping to settle the matter and minding her own business. She decided that she wouldn't do anything unless it got physical.

"You know that what happened was out of my power to control at the time. I've apologized for this countless times," Lyon's volume dropped, "I just want my brother back. I'm tired of fighting."

"You're no brother of mine."

Juvia watched as the stare-off lost tension but grew in length. The two men sat in silence for a long time, having some kind of second, secret conversation with their eyes, and Juvia felt slightly uncomfortable. Out of curiosity (and against her better judgement) she asked,

"Who's 'she?' "

Both Gray and Lyon looked at her then. Gray looked away and went to sit in a chair across the loveseat, his head hanging low on his shoulders out of some unreadable emotion. Lyon stiffened before he told her quietly.

"Her name was Ur. She meant a lot to us."

Ur.

"As in . . your mentor?"

Lyon gave her an incredulous look that quickly changed to realization-- of what, Juvia had no clue. Gray still wouldn't look up from his feet.

Lyon sighed after a long while. He stood up, and Juvia didn't stop him because he came up strong. "Gray. I will leave you alone until you decide to visit me. And I expect that you will, because you no longer have any excuse. Miss Juvia," Juvia gave him her attention as he turned to her and bowed at the waist, "Thank you again for your hospitality."

"Oh, it was really no trouble! You flatter me, honestly. Thank you for being so gently!" She could feel herself blushing like mad; she had never been treated so kindly before. Lyon was something else.

And though it tugged on her heartstrings, she didn't stop him from leaving her house with half of his face still swollen from Gray's beating. As soon as the door shut, Gray spoke. He was quiet, terse, and it unsettled her greatly.

"He killed her; he killed Ur."

Juvia knew for certain, then, that the other boy from Gray's childhood was the ironically narcissistic, cordial man with hair like ice.


	9. Save the Seals

Gray was on the bus to the store when he looked out the window and saw Juvia standing on the corner with a big poster board sign in her hands with the words 'SAVE THE SEALS' written on it. He was at an absolute loss for the first few seconds. It was something to process.

As fate would have it, the bus had come to a stop across the street. People were currently in the process of getting on and/or getting off, and Gray had enough time to look at Juvia, see her protest, and decide to get off the bus two stops early. He crossed the street and met her at the corner.

She seemed both surprised and happy to see him walk up. She put the board aside to talk to him for a moment.

"Didn't expect to see you here,"

"I didn't expect to see you here either."

"Well you know why I'm here," she shook the board a little, referring to its bolded words, "Where did you come from?"

"I happened to be on the bus that just left the stop across the street. I was on my way to the store, but it looks like you could use some help."

"I never pegged you for the type to care."

"You don't peg me for much, do you?"

Juvia laughed. "No, I don't."

Gray shrugged. "To be honest, you're not wrong. But what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you out? Especially since I know this kind of stuff is important to you."

Juvia flushed in spite of herself. "Thanks."

A majority of his day was spent standing on that street corner next to the downtown Magnolia intersection waving a medium sized "SAVE THE SEALS" sign in the faces of passerby and getting weird looks from drivers. He even caught Gajeel and Levy on a date across the street. Levy saw them and immediately dragged Gajeel over.

Levy saw what they were doing and wanted to help. Gajeel seemed hesitant and almost as if he were going to say something brazen about not wanting to be bothered, then Levy gave him a stern look and he sighed before cooperating. It was nice because the couple hadn't been with them the last time their group of friends met up. Now, Juvia had time to bond with them both and Gray had time to talk to Levy, whom he had kind of been ignoring since she beat him at a videogame; it was unintentional and needed to end, and he was lucky that Levy wasn't the type to take such things personally.

Sometime in the late afternoon, a pink haired girl just happened to be driving by and decided that she was going to park in a nearby spot and join them. By the way she animatedly interacted with Juvia, Gray thought it was safe to say that she wasn't so random after all. Later, he learned that her name was Meredy, and that she and Juvia had been good friends for a long time.

"I should trick Jellal into coming down here! It would be so funny, right?"

Gray raised a brow. "Wait, you know Jellal?"

Meredy nodded energetically. "Yeah! He's like my lame older brother accept we're completely unrelated."

"Okay. . ?"

Juvia smiled. "What Meredy means is she and Jellal are very good friends. I'd dare to call them family, though they don't share any blood at all."

Gray thought it was a funny thing how life turned out. It seemed that he and Juvia had a common relation before they even knew each other. The world was small indeed.

Meredy eventually decided that she would trick Jellal into coming downtown. Gray was actually looking forward to it, finding the immense amount of comraderie very satisfying. They had so many people now that Juvia had to drive home and get more boards and paint to make boards for those of them who didn't have one; he was on the verge of agreeing with that saying that more was merrier.

And then Jellal came, with Erza's hand in his and his coat over her shoulders because the day was getting cold, and Gray decided that he should get to the store before it got dark.


	10. Umbrella

Juvia couldn't stand the recent heat wave. Not only was it ridiculously hot, but the rains wouldn't be coming for a long time and Gray's clothes were scattered all over her house. While the latter issue wasn't necessarily all that bad, it was still extra work she didn't feel like dealing with in the unbearable heat of the day.

She was happy with her seal movement and it had put both her and all of her friends in a great mood after, but something had clearly gone wrong and Gray left the scene looking gloomy, talking about the grocery store. Now he was heartbroken and always passed out on her couch, with Ame curled up on his stomach and the same single beer bottle on her coffee table. Had he even gone to work in the past week?

"Just talk to me so I can get you out of my house and making money again. What happened?"

"I like her, Juvia," Gray started in a somber tone. His voice sounded strained, which led Juvia to think that perhaps Gray had been crying despite how hard it was to imagine, and the arm folded over his face, hiding his eyes from her, muffled his voice to a weary mumble. "I have this stupid crush on Erza. I tried to ignore it for a while, and when it was obvious that I wasn't getting over it anytime soon, I thought that I might actually be able to muster up the courage to ask her out,"

Juvia listened well, like a good friend should. But she couldn't say that she was impartial, unfortunately. That fated feeling she'd had when she met Gray had faded away over time but suddenly come back strong when she'd heard him say that he liked Erza. She didn't disapprove of the notion, it was simply that she felt there was something better-- she didn't really know; she just felt like there might be something more to their friendship.

Juvia came out of her thoughts and noticed that Gray had gotten quiet.

"And. . ?"

"And now she's dating Jellal. I don't know if it's because I was too late or if it's because I was never meant to be her. . ."

Juvia tool pity on him and decided not to delve anymore. "Well, at least she doesn't _not_ like you. You guys are still friends, right?"

"Well. . yes. . . but it still hurts."

Juvia was both surprised that Gray was telling her this much and that he was affected this much. It was a stark, stark contrast to his cold persona. She gave a lopsided smile that she knew he couldn't see.

"I never pegged you as the type to care this much."

There was a prolonged moment of silence. She waited for Gray to say or do something.

"You don't peg me as much, do you?"

Juvia smiled, knowing that beneath that arm, even if she couldn't see it, there was a smile-- sad? probably; weak? probably; but it was there. She knelt beside the couch Gray was laying on and pet Ame, causing the cat to purr. She smiled.

"You gonna go make money now?"

". . . I'll pay you back in full."

Juvia didn't understand what he meant by that until weeks later.


	11. Jackass

"I win again!"

"Whatever, I'll win next round."

"That's what you said ten rounds ago."

"Shut up!"

Gray brought the game back to the character selection menu and began looking for whomever was going to whoop Juvia's butt next. They were playing Street Fighter V on the videogame console at his house for the weekend, and Juvia had never played before. Gray had never been the type to take it easy on beginners (everyone could thank Levy for that; she had learned the combos in five seconds and then proceeded to execute them with cruel efficiency the first time she played, and he vowed to never underestimate a rookie again).

Juvia chose a different character that she was better with and killed him in the first round, but Gray won both rounds after that with a grain of salt. He gloated, never being one for modesty in victory either.

"Hah! That's what, my twentieth win today? In a row?"

Juvia tossed her controller aside, truly done with Gray's attitude instead of the game. "You're such a jackass when it comes to games." she pointed out.

Gray shrugged. "What can I say? I'm competitive."

"If by 'competitive' you mean 'a total jackass,' then you're right." Juvia picked up her phone and started to play Candy Crush.

Gray went onto story mode. Juvia spent the night.

Juvia lost her phone somewhere in the house the next day and asked him to call it. It rang for a while before he finally found it under the couch. He was relieved to have found it because Juvia was beginning to get a bit anxious, but his relief halted as soon as he saw the screen.

"Haah?"

The phone, still ringing, read "Jackass" with his phone number right beneath it. There was no mistake.

His contact was "Jackass."

"Really, Juvs?"

As soon as Juvia saw what he was so pissed off about, she laughed.

"Well, you're a jackass. I think I've found my nickname for you," She said with a pensive look on her face, like she was seriously considering it. Gray knew that she was.

"Wait, I'm sorry about the game! I didn't really mean it!"

Juvia mimicked his typical shrug, a coy smile on her face. "That's what you get for being a jackass."


	12. Lean On

Gray came home and Juvia was sitting on his porch with a dismal look. He wasn't entirely sure how to approach the issue that was clearly present, so he kept silent and let her into the house. She sat in his living room while he made them some tea and hugged his couch pillow tight.

"Ame passed away."

All he knew to do was give her a shoulder to cry on. That was all he could remember himself needing when Ur was taken away forever.

That night, when the rain came, it was not a joyous or peaceful occasion; Juvia buried Ame in her new backyard and gave her regards. Gray stood by her the entire time for support and even said a few words himself. The rain poured and then it left.

"I'm real sorry about Ame," Gray said to her softly as he prepared his couch for her to rest, "I can't say I know what it's like to lose a life-time friend, but I know how it feels to have the inevitable pounce on you. It sucks. But not all things are that way,"

Gray sighed as he sat down on the couch beside Juvia and put his arm around her. He let her curl into his side as he tried to get his mouth to say what he wanted. It was cheesy and not really his thing, but Juvia was a friend in need so he would just have to step out of his comfort-zone for a while. He ran a hand through the bangs of his hair.

"What I mean is. . . even if others leave you, I'll always be here."

Juvia sniffled twice before she responded in a weak voice, "Don't make a promise you can't keep. . ."

Gray smiled. "I never do."


	13. The Daughter

"I hear you beat up Lyon again,"

Gray narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to greet your elder sibling?"

"Well you weren't exactly peachy when I answered my door."

She rolled her eyes with a playful scoff and let herself into his house. Gray grit his teeth in annoyance and followed after her.

"You know, I'm a full-grown man now; you could have a little more respect for my space. Besides, I have company over."

"Unless this company was sleeping with you the night before, I see no reason to tred carefully. And we both know you haven't--"

She stopped. Gray, his visage pissy, walked around his annoying sister to see what had stunned her to silence. What he saw was no surprise to him, but to his sibling. . .

"O-Oh my! I'm sorry, I-- I didn't mean to. . !" His sister sputtered nervously for a moment as she took in the physical state of his company, namely Juvia; the blue-haired girl who'd stayed the night at his house as per some unspoken custom had risen from slumber skin bare and her hair a tangled mess. While it wasn't necessarily awkward for Gray, his sister had no context whatsoever and was stuck in an uncomfortable position.

Gray recognized that he must have woken Juvia up with his bickering and instantly felt bad. Before he apologized, though, he needed his sister to calm down. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit hopessly. "Cool it, Ultear, or you're going to make her self-conscious."

"Wh-What!?"

Gray saw Juvia fluster. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from them both, her body language timid. Gray sighed and scratched his head irritably.

"Now look what you've done,"

"M-Me!?"

"Juvia, this is my annoying sister, Ultear," Gray moved on, trying to dissolve the weird moment, "Ultear this is my friend, Juvia. We, uh. . . didn't sleep together last night. . ."

That was enough to put Juvia over the edge. She bashfully excused herself to the bathroom.

Gray sighed. "Geez, Ul; you could've been cooler about it."

"How can I be cool when there is a naked girl in your living room?" Ultear whispered fiercely. Gray rolled his eyes and made himself comfortable on the couch Juvia just left. His shirt had been taken off at the door; now his pants came off and were languidly strewn about the back of the couch. Ultear seemed unbothered by the fact that he was only in his boxers and it made Gray wonder why she had never taken up the stripping habit that he and Lyon had.

"Relax. I told you, we didn't do anything like that."

"Then explain it to me."

Gray opted to ignore Ultear for favor of snuggling into Juvia's blanket and pretending that his sister was not there. He breathed in deep and exhaled serenly at the familiar smell that he could only describe as Juvia; how did she always smell so good?

"I'm back! Sorry for my look earlier," Juvia exclaimed as she entered the living room fully clothed, casting an apologetic look to Ultear. The older woman seemed unbothered. "I tend to sleep comfortably."

Ultear abruptly paced towards Juvia and took a firm hold of her shoulders. She looked into Juvia's eyes with a startling sobriety. "You seem like a really nice girl, but my idiot brother is an idiot. Just let me know if he does anything stupid, like try to have sex with you, okay?"

"O. . Okay. . ."

"Shut up, Ultear!"


	14. Sapphire

When Juvia returned home, there was a small, turquoise box set atop her kitchen island. She raised a curious eyebrow at it, wondering where it had come from; she knew for certain that she had never had anything like this. Glancing around cautiously and hoping against the worst, Juvia lifted the lid with careful fingers and looked inside.

Her breath was taken for a moment-- the contents hadn't been what she was expecting (well, she didn't know what she had been expecting, but it still surprised her). Two lithe fingers grabbed sterling silver chain and she held the necklace out in front of her. The pendant swayed slightly in her field of vision, reflecting and refracting sunlight that spilled in from her kitchen window. Juvia smiled.

It was a large sapphire dew drop. In a secondary loop just under it was a row of small, light blue gems connected by black tassle. The necklace in its entirety was gorgeous, and Juvia wished she knew where it came from, who to give thanks to.

"Perhaps Ame has bartered with Kami-sama and managed to convince them to bestow it upon me for our time together?" She murmured the playful thought to herself fondly as she positioned the necklace over her chest and admired it. She giggled a little at the prospect too. "What a thoughtful companion,"

Juvia took the next few moments to put it on. Afterward, she moved to take care of the box and put it away. But before she put the lid back on, she spotted a clump of dark ink on the inside. Upon closer, strenuous inspection, Juvia realized that it was a message written in scratchy handwriting. Immediately, she knew who this wonderful gift was from. She read the note with effort.

You're a great friend, Juvs, and I appreciate you. I thought you would like something like this, so it's yours. Thanks for letting me be a jackass.

\-- Gray

It was a terrible letter, but it made Juvia laugh; Gray really was bad at this sort of thing. She appreciated the effort and honestly wouldn't have preferred that he write it any other way. She decided to let him know that she'd gotten it.

It was convenient that they were neighbors. She walked over to Gray's house and knocked on his door, hopeful that he was home. He didn't come to the door for a long while, even after she knocked again, and she assumed he was out. Ecstatic mood a bit dampened, Juvia turned around and began the walk back to her house. She was halfway down Gray's driveway when--

"Hey! I know you're transcendent and shit, but I almost ran you over!"

A grin came to Juvia's face as she looked up from her new necklace and straight at Gray Fullbuster, whose head was stuck out of the window of his old beamer to shout at her. She didn't even feel abashed for dawdling in his driveway and almost getting hurt-- but maybe a little bad for worrying him. She moved out of the way so he could park, then wrapped her arms around him as soon as he stepped out of his car.

"Woah," Gray chuckled, hugging her back, "What's got you so excited?"

Beaming, Juvia held up the dew drop pendant hanging from her neck. Gray's eyes softened as soon as he saw it. He raised a hand to his neck, "You like it?"

"I love it," she said, "thank you, Gray."

"It's no big deal. You deserve it."

Juvia hummed, diverted her gaze. "Really?"

"Yeah. You've been good to me."

That meant a lot to Juvia knowing that it was hard for Gray to talk about his feelings. She suddenly didn't feel like she deserved this much; jewelry and his precious thoughts in one day? it was unfair that he didn't receive anything from her. Perhaps she should-- wait. Juvia looked back to him as yet another thought occurred to her.

"How did you get into my house?"

Gray's smile faltered just a bit. "The back door was unlocked," he admitted.

Juvia raised a brow. "And the alarm system?"

Gray shrugged. "It wasn't hard to guess your password. By the way, you should change your password."

Juvia laughed. "I should have known."

"You probably should have."

Before either of them could say more, the sky suddenly erupted in a booming clamor, thick grey clouds moving to cover the sun. Juvia had been over at his house for longer than she thought. They both looked up to the sky with relaxed, hopeful smiles, waiting eagerly where others would have rushed for refuge. Soon enough, it began to rain.

"Wait-- Juvia-- what are you doing?"

Juvia giggled at the blush on Gray's face as she took his hands in hers and began to move. She spun them in a circle, like two children holding onto a really fast playground merry-go-round. Her giggle turned into full, merry laughter.

"This is what I will do for you," she said, and made him dance with her in the rain.


End file.
